Liam Neeson says voice was key to capturing character of Michael Collins

County Antrim star Liam Neeson tapped to take on role of General McArthur said his life experience has molded his vocal skills.

Irish actor Liam Neeson says director Neil Jordan devoted a great deal of time to perfecting Neeson's voice to play the title role in Jordan's 1996 biopic “Michael Collins.”

The Oscar-winning star from Ballymena in County Antrim says his fellow Irishman became slightly obsessed with Neeson's voice.

“On "Michael Collins" – he is a terrific writer. Writers will talk about the pace of what you're saying," he told Esquire magazine.

Neeson said that getting Michael Collins' voice right was vitally important to playing the Big Fella in the popular movie. He said working on his voice has made him a better actor.

The “Taken” star said, “I think you can work on a certain gravitas with a voice.

"In 'Taken,' he's a man of few words, lots of action. He never struck me as someone with a high-pitched voice.”

He continued, "I remember Steven [Spielberg, director] wanted a rich cigarette, cognac voice [for "Schindler's List"]. I never drank cognac. I used to be a smoker, so maybe I had a residue left."

"But it was a beautiful script by Steve Zaillian. There was maybe one comma changed in that.”

Neeson discussed his select set of vocal skills and attributes during a promotional appearance for his latest role. Neeson is one of the voice over artists in the adaptation of Kahlil Gibran's classic text “The Prophet.” Neeson provides the voice for the poet Mustafa in the soon-to-be-released movie.

He admitted that he had read the book as a teenager but said he did not fully appreciate it.

"I thought it was beautiful, but it bounced off me – I didn't have life experience," he said.

"Now that I'm 63, I'm the father of two boys, reading it again, it's a richer experience."

The actor has also been in the press this month as he’s been tapped to play the role of United States Army General Douglas MacArthur in “Operation Chromite” (a.k.a. “Incheon Landing Operation”), a Korean-made blockbuster set during the Korean War of the early 1950s.

The movie focuses on the heroic Korean troopers who carried out the covert “X-ray” operation that preceded the Incheon landing operation in the Yellow Sea. The landing shifted the momentum of the Korean War.

A company spokesperson told Variety that “Operation” will start shooting in South Korea during the second half of 2015.

Here’s the trailer for the famed movie “Michael Collins”:

County Antrim star Liam Neeson tapped to take on role of General McArthur said his life experience has molded his vocal skills.